Editor’s note: This story is revised from the print edition.
XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck and the eight cities that will be a part of the league at its launch have developed 2020 vision.
Standing in front of a scrum of reporters last week in the swanky Toyota Club at MetLife Stadium, XFL Commissioner Oliver Luck was asked if he had concerns about the rival Alliance for American Football launching in 2019, one year earlier than the XFL will begin. Luck’s reply was succinct and direct: “No.”
The reasons for Luck’s confidence were all around him in the ritzy room, and on the XFL branding that lit up the digital signs outside the stadium. Nearby was WWE Chairman Vince McMahon, who is committing up to $500 million for the league that is set to launch in February 2020.
Leaders from seven major cities — all of which have an existing NFL team — spoke at the event to announce the first eight markets for the revived league, which include Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, St. Louis, Tampa and Washington, D.C. The teams will play in four current NFL stadiums (StubHub Center in Los Angeles; MetLife Stadium in New Jersey; CenturyLink Field in Seattle; and Raymond James Stadium in Tampa), a former NFL stadium (The Dome at America’s Center in St. Louis), an MLS stadium (Audi Field in Washington, D.C.), a college football stadium (TDECU Stadium in Houston) and even an MLB ballpark (Globe Life Park, the Texas Rangers’ home in Arlington). The Alliance, in comparison, will begin play in two months and will compete in mid-sized markets in mostly college stadiums.
That discrepancy indicates that the XFL is much better funded, opined Bob Caporale, chairman of sports advisory boutique Game Plan and a former owner of Boston’s USFL franchise in the early 1980s.
“It’s not only the [cost of the] lease but putting up players, and when you are in a big market there is all kind of additional cost — transportation, lodging, food,” he said. And, he added, lack of capital is what sunk so many previous startup football leagues.
The AAF declined to comment. A source close to the league said the plan is to spend $850 million over the next five years, and that fundraising is ongoing, though he did not say how much capital has been raised.
The XFL targeted NFL markets because its research suggested that fans in those areas were more passionate for football, Luck said. The XFL tapped McKinsey for the markets study.
Business is moving rapidly for the XFL. It plans to announce its broadcast agreement later this month and is interviewing head coaches and team presidents. Team logos and names should come soon, too.
By next quarter, each franchise will hire its starting quarterback, and will pay each up to $300,000 annually. That will give teams up to a year to market around the QB.
“We are planning to sign players in 2019 and work with them all through the calendar year, building franchises around these players along with their head coaches and their coaching staff,” Luck said.
Don’t expect a reboot of the original XFL, which lasted only a few months in 2001 and was a venture between WWE and NBC. The XFL is wholly owned by McMahon, but no crossover promotions are planned with WWE.
In addition, Luck has made it clear that the XFL will not become a developmental league for the NFL, explaining that doing so would diminish the XFL’s control over player allocation.
